Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Accessing Alternative Keys

ABSTRACT

A method at a multifunction device with a touch-sensitive display includes: displaying a text entry region and a soft keyboard with default keys; detecting a contact at a first location on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to an activation region associated with a respective default key, and detecting an immediate subsequent movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive display; in response to detecting the immediate subsequent movement, displaying an array of keys including alternate keys for the respective default key; detecting liftoff of the contact at a second location on the touch-sensitive display; and, in response to detecting the liftoff: when the second location corresponds to an activation region associated with a respective alternate key, ceasing to display the array and inserting a character associated with the respective alternate key into the text entry region.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/292,500, filed Jan. 6, 2010, entitled “Device, Method, and GraphicalUser Interface for Accessing Alternate Keys,” which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to electronic devices withtouch-sensitive surfaces, and more particularly, to electronic deviceswith touch screen displays that receive input for activating thedisplaying of alternate keys associated with a default key.

BACKGROUND

The use of touch-sensitive surfaces as input devices for computers andother electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recentyears. Exemplary touch-sensitive surfaces include touch pads and touchscreen displays. Such surfaces are widely used to manipulate userinterface objects on a display.

Exemplary manipulations include entering characters using one or moresoft keyboards. A user may need to perform such manipulations on userinterface objects in any program or application where character input isneeded.

But existing methods for using such soft keyboards are cumbersome andinefficient. For example, accessing alternate keys for a default key ona soft keyboard is tedious and creates a significant cognitive burden ona user. In addition, some conventional methods take longer thannecessary to complete a task, thereby wasting a user's time and adevice's power reserve, which can be particularly importantconsideration for battery-operated devices.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, there is a need for computing devices with faster, moreefficient methods and interfaces for accessing alternate keys for adefault key on a soft keyboard. Such methods and interfaces maycomplement or replace conventional methods for accessing alternate keysfor a default key on a soft keyboard. Such methods and interfaces reducethe cognitive burden on a user and produce a more efficienthuman-machine interface. For battery-operated computing devices, suchmethods and interfaces conserve power and increase the time betweenbattery charges.

The above deficiencies and other problems associated with userinterfaces for computing devices with touch-sensitive displays (alsoknown as a “touch screen” or “touch screen display”) are reduced oreliminated by the disclosed devices. In some embodiments, the device isa desktop computer. In some embodiments, the device is portable (e.g., anotebook computer, tablet computer, or handheld device). In someembodiments, the device has a graphical user interface (GUI), one ormore processors, memory and one or more modules, programs or sets ofinstructions stored in the memory for performing multiple functions. Insome embodiments, the user interacts with the GUI primarily throughfinger contacts and gestures on the touch-sensitive display. In someembodiments, the functions may include image editing, drawing,presenting, word processing, website creating, disk authoring,spreadsheet making, game playing, telephoning, video conferencing,e-mailing, instant messaging, workout support, digital photographing,digital videoing, web browsing, digital music playing, and/or digitalvideo playing. Executable instructions for performing these functionsmay be included in a computer readable storage medium or other computerprogram product configured for execution by one or more processors.

In accordance with some embodiments, a method is performed at amultifunction device with a touch-sensitive display. The methodincludes: displaying a text entry region and a soft keyboard having aplurality of default keys; detecting a contact at a first location onthe touch-sensitive display that corresponds to an activation regionassociated with a respective default key, wherein the respective defaultkey has a plurality of alternate keys, and detecting an immediatesubsequent movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive display; inresponse to detecting the movement of the contact, while continuing todisplay the plurality of default keys of the soft keyboard, displayingan array of keys including the plurality of alternate keys for therespective default key, each key in the array having an associatedactivation region; detecting liftoff of the contact at a second locationon the touch-sensitive display; and in response to detecting the liftoffof the contact: when the second location corresponds to an activationregion that is associated with a respective alternate key in the array,ceasing to display the array and inserting a character associated withthe respective alternate key into the text entry region; and when thesecond location corresponds to a region of the touch-sensitive displaythat is not an activation region for any of the keys in the array,ceasing to display the array without inserting any character into thetext entry region.

In accordance with some embodiments, a multifunction device includes atouch-sensitive display, one or more processors, memory, and one or moreprograms; the one or more programs are stored in the memory andconfigured to be executed by the one or more processors and the one ormore programs include instructions for performing the operations of themethod described above. In accordance with some embodiments, a graphicaluser interface on a multifunction device with a touch-sensitive display,a memory, and one or more processors to execute one or more programsstored in the memory includes one or more of the elements displayed inthe method described above, which are updated in response to inputs, asdescribed in the method above. In accordance with some embodiments, acomputer readable storage medium has stored therein instructions whichwhen executed by a multifunction device with a touch-sensitive display,cause the device to perform the operations of the method describedabove. In accordance with some embodiments, a multifunction deviceincludes: a touch-sensitive display; and means for performing theoperations of the method described above. In accordance with someembodiments, an information processing apparatus, for use in amultifunction device with a touch-sensitive display, includes means forperforming the operations of the method described above.

Thus, multifunction devices with touch screen displays are provided withfaster, more efficient methods and interfaces for accessing alternatekeys to a default key on a soft keyboard, thereby increasing theeffectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction with such devices. Suchmethods and interfaces may complement or replace conventional methodsfor accessing alternate keys to a default key on a soft keyboard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the aforementioned embodiments of theinvention as well as additional embodiments thereof, reference should bemade to the Description of Embodiments below, in conjunction with thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer tocorresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams illustrating portable multifunctiondevices with touch-sensitive displays in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screenin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate exemplary user interfaces for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 5A-5I illustrate exemplary user interfaces for accessing alternatekeys in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6C are flow diagrams illustrating a method of accessingalternate keys in accordance with some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks havenot been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspectsof the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed asecond contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a firstcontact, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thefirst contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are notthe same contact.

The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is forthe purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is notintended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description ofthe invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and“the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that theterm “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and allpossible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Itwill be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,”“comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” dependingon the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [astated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context.

As used herein, the term “resolution” of a display refers to the numberof pixels (also called “pixel counts” or “pixel resolution”) along eachaxis or in each dimension of the display. For example, a display mayhave a resolution of 320×480 pixels. Furthermore, as used herein, theterm “resolution” of a multifunction device refers to the resolution ofa display in the multifunction device. The term “resolution” does notimply any limitations on the size of each pixel or the spacing ofpixels. For example, compared to a first display with a 1024×768-pixelresolution, a second display with a 320×480-pixel resolution has a lowerresolution. However, it should be noted that the physical size of adisplay depends not only on the pixel resolution, but also on many otherfactors, including the pixel size and the spacing of pixels. Therefore,the first display may have the same, smaller, or larger physical size,compared to the second display.

As used herein, the term “video resolution” of a display refers to thedensity of pixels along each axis or in each dimension of the display.The video resolution is often measured in a dots-per-inch (DPI) unit,which counts the number of pixels that can be placed in a line withinthe span of one inch along a respective dimension of the display.

Embodiments of computing devices, user interfaces for such devices, andassociated processes for using such devices are described. In someembodiments, the computing device is a portable communications device,such as a mobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such asPDA and/or music player functions. Exemplary embodiments of portablemultifunction devices include, without limitation, the iPhone® and iPodTouch® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portabledevices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitivesurfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touch pads), may also beused. It should also be understood that, in some embodiments, the deviceis not a portable communications device, but is a desktop computer witha touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screen display and/or a touchpad).

In the discussion that follows, a computing device that includes adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should beunderstood, however, that the computing device may include one or moreother physical user-interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, amouse and/or a joystick.

The device supports a variety of applications, such as one or more ofthe following: a drawing application, a presentation application, a wordprocessing application, a website creation application, a disk authoringapplication, a spreadsheet application, a gaming application, atelephone application, a video conferencing application, an e-mailapplication, an instant messaging application, a workout supportapplication, a photo management application, a digital cameraapplication, a digital video camera application, a web browsingapplication, a digital music player application, and/or a digital videoplayer application.

The various applications that may be executed on the device may use atleast one common physical user-interface device, such as thetouch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitivesurface as well as corresponding information displayed on the device maybe adjusted and/or varied from one application to the next and/or withina respective application. In this way, a common physical architecture(such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the device may support thevariety of applications with user interfaces that are intuitive andtransparent to the user.

The user interfaces may include one or more soft keyboard embodiments.The soft keyboard embodiments may include standard (QWERTY) and/ornon-standard configurations of symbols on the displayed icons of thekeyboard, such as those described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.11/459,606, “Keyboards For Portable Electronic Devices,” filed Jul. 24,2006, and 11/459,615, “Touch Screen Keyboards For Portable ElectronicDevices,” filed Jul. 24, 2006, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties. The keyboard embodimentsmay include a reduced number of icons (or soft keys) relative to thenumber of keys in existing physical keyboards, such as that for atypewriter. This may make it easier for users to select one or moreicons in the keyboard, and thus, one or more corresponding symbols. Thekeyboard embodiments may be adaptive. For example, displayed icons maybe modified in accordance with user actions, such as selecting one ormore icons and/or one or more corresponding symbols. One or moreapplications on the device may utilize common and/or different keyboardembodiments. Thus, the keyboard embodiment used may be tailored to atleast some of the applications. In some embodiments, one or morekeyboard embodiments may be tailored to a respective user. For example,one or more keyboard embodiments may be tailored to a respective userbased on a word usage history (lexicography, slang, individual usage) ofthe respective user. Some of the keyboard embodiments may be adjusted toreduce a probability of a user error when selecting one or more icons,and thus one or more symbols, when using the soft keyboard embodiments.

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices withtouch-sensitive displays. FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagramsillustrating portable multifunction devices 100 with touch-sensitivedisplays 112 in accordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitivedisplay 112 is sometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience, andmay also be known as or called a touch-sensitive display system. Device100 may include memory 102 (which may include one or more computerreadable storage mediums), memory controller 122, one or more processingunits (CPU's) 120, peripherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audiocircuitry 110, speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem106, other input or control devices 116, and external port 124. Device100 may include one or more optical sensors 164. These components maycommunicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines 103.

It should be appreciated that device 100 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 100 may have more orfewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or mayhave a different configuration or arrangement of the components. Thevarious components shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B may be implemented inhardware, software, or a combination of both hardware and software,including one or more signal processing and/or application specificintegrated circuits.

Memory 102 may include high-speed random access memory and may alsoinclude non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memorydevices. Access to memory 102 by other components of device 100, such asCPU 120 and the peripherals interface 118, may be controlled by memorycontroller 122.

Peripherals interface 118 can be used to couple input and outputperipherals of the device to CPU 120 and memory 102. The one or moreprocessors 120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets ofinstructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions fordevice 100 and to process data.

In some embodiments, peripherals interface 118, CPU 120, and memorycontroller 122 may be implemented on a single chip, such as chip 104. Insome other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 may include well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RFcircuitry 108 may communicate with networks, such as the Internet, alsoreferred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wirelessnetwork, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local areanetwork (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and otherdevices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may useany of a plurality of communications standards, protocols andtechnologies, including but not limited to Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speeddownlink packet access (HSDPA), wideband code division multiple access(W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a,IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over InternetProtocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet messageaccess protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instantmessaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP),Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and PresenceLeveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service(IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS), or any other suitablecommunication protocol, including communication protocols not yetdeveloped as of the filing date of this document.

Audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, and microphone 113 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 100. Audio circuitry 110 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 118, converts the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 111.Speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.Audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted bymicrophone 113 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 110 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 118 for processing. Audio data may be retrievedfrom and/or transmitted to memory 102 and/or RF circuitry 108 byperipherals interface 118. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 110 alsoincludes a headset jack (e.g., 212, FIG. 2). The headset jack providesan interface between audio circuitry 110 and removable audioinput/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headsetwith both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input(e.g., a microphone).

I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on device 100, suchas touch screen 112 and other input control devices 116, to peripheralsinterface 118. I/O subsystem 106 may include display controller 156 andone or more input controllers 160 for other input or control devices.The one or more input controllers 160 receive/send electrical signalsfrom/to other input or control devices 116. The other input controldevices 116 may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rockerbuttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and soforth. In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s) 160 may becoupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, infrared port,USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons(e.g., 208, FIG. 2) may include an up/down button for volume control ofspeaker 111 and/or microphone 113. The one or more buttons may include apush button (e.g., 206, FIG. 2). A quick press of the push button maydisengage a lock of touch screen 112 or begin a process that usesgestures on the touch screen to unlock the device, as described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/322,549, “Unlocking a Device byPerforming Gestures on an Unlock Image,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A longer press of thepush button (e.g., 206) may turn power to device 100 on or off. The usermay be able to customize a functionality of one or more of the buttons.Touch screen 112 is used to implement virtual or soft buttons and one ormore soft keyboards.

Touch-sensitive display 112 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 156 receivesand/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 112. Touch screen112 displays visual output to the user. The visual output may includegraphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectivelytermed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visualoutput may correspond to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set of sensorsthat accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact.Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 (along with any associatedmodules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detect contact (andany movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen 112 andconverts the detected contact into interaction with user-interfaceobjects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages or images) thatare displayed on touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, a pointof contact between touch screen 112 and the user corresponds to a fingerof the user.

Touch screen 112 may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD(light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emittingdiode) technology, although other display technologies may be used inother embodiments. Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 maydetect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of aplurality of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed,including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, andsurface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensorarrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contactwith touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutualcapacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in theiPhone® and iPod Touch® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112 may beanalogous to the multi-touch sensitive touchpads described in thefollowing U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), 6,570,557(Westerman et al.), and/or 6,677,932 (Westerman), and/or U.S. PatentPublication 2002/0015024A1, each of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. However, touch screen 112 displays visualoutput from portable device 100, whereas touch sensitive touchpads donot provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112 may beas described in the following applications: (1) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller,” filed May 2,2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862, “MultipointTouchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jul. 30,2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,264, “Gestures ForTouch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical User InterfacesFor Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,758, “Virtual Input Device Placement On ATouch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (7) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of A Computer With A TouchScreen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of A Touch-Screen VirtualKeyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” filed Mar. 3, 2006. Allof these applications are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

Touch screen 112 may have a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi. Insome embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user may make contact with touch screen 112using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, andso forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to workprimarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be lessprecise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of afinger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translatesthe rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position orcommand for performing the actions desired by the user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 100 mayinclude a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particularfunctions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive areaof the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visualoutput. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separatefrom touch screen 112 or an extension of the touch-sensitive surfaceformed by the touch screen.

In some embodiments, device 100 may include a physical or virtual wheel(e.g., a click wheel) as input control device 116. A user may navigateamong and interact with one or more graphical objects (e.g., icons)displayed in touch screen 112 by rotating the click wheel or by moving apoint of contact with the click wheel (e.g., where the amount ofmovement of the point of contact is measured by its angular displacementwith respect to a center point of the click wheel). The click wheel mayalso be used to select one or more of the displayed icons. For example,the user may press down on at least a portion of the click wheel or anassociated button. User commands and navigation commands provided by theuser via the click wheel may be processed by input controller 160 aswell as one or more of the modules and/or sets of instructions in memory102. For a virtual click wheel, the click wheel and click wheelcontroller may be part of touch screen 112 and display controller 156,respectively. For a virtual click wheel, the click wheel may be eitheran opaque or semitransparent object that appears and disappears on thetouch screen display in response to user interaction with the device. Insome embodiments, a virtual click wheel is displayed on the touch screenof a portable multifunction device and operated by user contact with thetouch screen.

Device 100 also includes power system 162 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 162 may include a power management system, oneor more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), arecharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converteror inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode(LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 100 may also include one or more optical sensors 164. FIGS. 1Aand 1B show an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 158in I/O subsystem 106. Optical sensor 164 may include charge-coupleddevice (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)phototransistors. Optical sensor 164 receives light from theenvironment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the lightto data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module 143(also called a camera module), optical sensor 164 may capture stillimages or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located onthe back of device 100, opposite touch screen display 112 on the frontof the device, so that the touch screen display may be used as aviewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In someembodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of the device sothat the user's image may be obtained for videoconferencing while theuser views the other video conference participants on the touch screendisplay. In some embodiments, the position of optical sensor 164 can bechanged by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens and the sensor in thedevice housing) so that a single optical sensor 164 may be used alongwith the touch screen display for both video conferencing and stilland/or video image acquisition.

Device 100 may also include one or more proximity sensors 166. FIGS. 1Aand 1B show proximity sensor 166 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, proximity sensor 166 may be coupled to input controller 160in I/O subsystem 106. Proximity sensor 166 may perform as described inU.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/241,839, “Proximity Detector InHandheld Device”; 11/240,788, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”;11/620,702, “Using Ambient Light Sensor To Augment Proximity SensorOutput”; 11/586,862, “Automated Response To And Sensing Of User ActivityIn Portable Devices”; and 11/638,251, “Methods And Systems For AutomaticConfiguration Of Peripherals,” which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety. In some embodiments, the proximity sensorturns off and disables touch screen 112 when the multifunction device isplaced near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

Device 100 may also include one or more accelerometers 168. FIGS. 1A and1B show accelerometer 168 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, accelerometer 168 may be coupled to an input controller 160in I/O subsystem 106. Accelerometer 168 may perform as described in U.S.Patent Publication No. 20050190059, “Acceleration-based Theft DetectionSystem for Portable Electronic Devices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No.20060017692, “Methods And Apparatuses For Operating A Portable DeviceBased On An Accelerometer,” both of which are which are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety. In some embodiments, information isdisplayed on the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscapeview based on an analysis of data received from the one or moreaccelerometers. Device 100 optionally includes, in addition toaccelerometer(s) 168, a magnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASSor other global navigation system) receiver (not shown) for obtaininginformation concerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait orlandscape) of device 100.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102include operating system 126, communication module (or set ofinstructions) 128, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130,graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, text input module (or setof instructions) 134, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set ofinstructions) 135, and applications (or sets of instructions) 136.Furthermore, in some embodiments memory 102 stores device/globalinternal state 157, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 3. Device/globalinternal state 157 includes one or more of: active application state,indicating which applications, if any, are currently active; displaystate, indicating what applications, views or other information occupyvarious regions of touch screen display 112; sensor state, includinginformation obtained from the device's various sensors and input controldevices 116; and location information concerning the device's locationand/or attitude.

Operating system 126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, oran embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various softwarecomponents and/or drivers for controlling and managing general systemtasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, powermanagement, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardwareand software components.

Communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 124 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 108 and/orexternal port 124. External port 124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices orindirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). Insome embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the30-pin connector used on iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 130 may detect contact with touch screen 112 (inconjunction with display controller 156) and other touch sensitivedevices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). Contact/motionmodule 130 includes various software components for performing variousoperations related to detection of contact, such as determining ifcontact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-down event), determiningif there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more finger-draggingevents), and determining if the contact has ceased (e.g., detecting afinger-up event or a break in contact). Contact/motion module 130receives contact data from the touch-sensitive surface. Determiningmovement of the point of contact, which is represented by a series ofcontact data, may include determining speed (magnitude), velocity(magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitudeand/or direction) of the point of contact. These operations may beapplied to single contacts (e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiplesimultaneous contacts (e.g., “multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). Insome embodiments, contact/motion module 130 and display controller 156detects contact on a touchpad. In some embodiments, contact/motionmodule 130 and controller 160 detects contact on a click wheel.

Contact/motion module 130 may detect a gesture input by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns. Thus, a gesture may be detected by detecting a particularcontact pattern. For example, detecting a finger tap gesture includesdetecting a finger-down event followed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially the same position) asthe finger-down event (e.g., at the position of an icon). As anotherexample, detecting a finger swipe gesture on the touch-sensitive surfaceincludes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting one or morefinger-dragging events, and subsequently followed by detecting afinger-up (lift off) event.

Graphics module 132 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 112 or other display,including components for changing the intensity of graphics that aredisplayed. As used herein, the term “graphics” includes any object thatcan be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, webpages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys),digital images, videos, animations and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 132 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic may be assigned a corresponding code.Graphics module 132 receives, from applications etc., one or more codesspecifying graphics to be displayed along with, if necessary, coordinatedata and other graphic property data, and then generates screen imagedata to output to display controller 156.

Text input module 134, which may be a component of graphics module 132,provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications (e.g.,contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, browser 147, and any other applicationthat needs text input).

GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138 foruse in location-based dialing, to camera 143 as picture/video metadata,and to applications that provide location-based services such as weatherwidgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Applications 136 may include the following modules (or sets ofinstructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or contact        list);    -   telephone module 138;    -   video conferencing module 139;    -   e-mail client module 140;    -   instant messaging (IM) module 141;    -   workout support module 142;    -   camera module 143 for still and/or video images;    -   image management module 144;    -   video player module 145;    -   music player module 146;    -   browser module 147;    -   calendar module 148;    -   widget modules 149, which may include one or more of: weather        widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3,        alarm clock widget 149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and other        widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created widgets        149-6;    -   widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6;    -   search module 151;    -   video and music player module 152, which merges video player        module 145 and music player module 146;    -   notes module 153;    -   map module 154; and/or    -   online video module 155.

Examples of other applications 136 that may be stored in memory 102include other word processing applications, other image editingapplications, drawing applications, presentation applications,JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voicerecognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, contactsmodule 137 may be used to manage an address book or contact list (e.g.,stored in application internal state 192 of contacts module 137 inmemory 102 or memory 370), including: adding name(s) to the addressbook; deleting name(s) from the address book; associating telephonenumber(s), e-mail address(es), physical address(es) or other informationwith a name; associating an image with a name; categorizing and sortingnames; providing telephone numbers or e-mail addresses to initiateand/or facilitate communications by telephone 138, video conference 139,e-mail 140, or IM 141; and so forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, telephone module138 may be used to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to atelephone number, access one or more telephone numbers in address book137, modify a telephone number that has been entered, dial a respectivetelephone number, conduct a conversation and disconnect or hang up whenthe conversation is completed. As noted above, the wirelesscommunication may use any of a plurality of communications standards,protocols and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130, graphics module132, text input module 134, contact list 137, and telephone module 138,videoconferencing module 139 includes executable instructions toinitiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a user andone or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, e-mail client module 140 includes executable instructions tocreate, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response to userinstructions. In conjunction with image management module 144, e-mailclient module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mails withstill or video images taken with camera module 143.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, the instant messaging module 141 includes executableinstructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to aninstant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit arespective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service(SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-basedinstant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-basedinstant messages), to receive instant messages and to view receivedinstant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or receivedinstant messages may include graphics, photos, audio files, video filesand/or other attachments as are supported in a MMS and/or an EnhancedMessaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging” refers toboth telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) andInternet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, orIMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, GPS module 135, map module 154, and music player module 146,workout support module 142 includes executable instructions to createworkouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burning goals);communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receive workoutsensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; select andplay music for a workout; and display, store and transmit workout data.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, opticalsensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130,graphics module 132, and image management module 144, camera module 143includes executable instructions to capture still images or video(including a video stream) and store them into memory 102, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 102.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and cameramodule 143, image management module 144 includes executable instructionsto arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate, label, delete,present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), and store still and/orvideo images.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, and speaker 111,video player module 145 includes executable instructions to display,present or otherwise play back videos (e.g., on touch screen 112 or onan external, connected display via external port 124).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, music player module 146includes executable instructions that allow the user to download andplay back recorded music and other sound files stored in one or morefile formats, such as MP3 or AAC files. In some embodiments, device 100may include the functionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod(trademark of Apple Inc.).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, browser module 147 includes executable instructions tobrowse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, includingsearching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portionsthereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147, calendarmodule 148 includes executable instructions to create, display, modify,and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g., calendarentries, to do lists, etc.) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, and browser module 147, widget modules 149 aremini-applications that may be downloaded and used by a user (e.g.,weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3,alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or created by theuser (e.g., user-created widget 149-6). In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (CascadingStyle Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file(e.g., Yahoo! Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150 may beused by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning a user-specified portionof a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134,search module 151 includes executable instructions to search for text,music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 102 that matchone or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specified searchterms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, notes module153 includes executable instructions to create and manage notes, to dolists, and the like in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, map module 154 maybe used to receive, display, modify, and store maps and data associatedwith maps (e.g., driving directions; data on stores and other points ofinterest at or near a particular location; and other location-baseddata) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail client module 140,and browser module 147, online video module 155 includes instructionsthat allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., by streamingand/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or on anexternal, connected display via external port 124), send an e-mail witha link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage online videosin one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments, instantmessaging module 141, rather than e-mail client module 140, is used tosend a link to a particular online video. Additional description of theonline video application can be found in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/936,562, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20,2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067, “PortableMultifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for PlayingOnline Videos,” filed Dec. 31, 2007, the content of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, andthus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwisere-arranged in various embodiments. For example, video player module 145may be combined with music player module 146 into a single module (e.g.,video and music player module 152, FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, memory102 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identifiedabove. Furthermore, memory 102 may store additional modules and datastructures not described above.

In some embodiments, device 100 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device100, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons,dials, and the like) on device 100 may be reduced.

The predefined set of functions that may be performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad include navigation between userinterfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user,navigates device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that may be displayed on device 100. In such embodiments, thetouchpad may be referred to as a “menu button.” In some otherembodiments, the menu button may be a physical push button or otherphysical input control device instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 102 (in FIGS. 1A and 1B) or 370 (FIG. 3) includes event sorter170 (e.g., in operating system 126) and a respective application 136-1(e.g., any of the aforementioned applications 137-151, 155, 380-390).

Event sorter 170 receives event information and determines theapplication 136-1 and application view 191 of application 136-1 to whichto deliver the event information. Event sorter 170 includes eventmonitor 171 and event dispatcher module 174. In some embodiments,application 136-1 includes application internal state 192, whichindicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch sensitivedisplay 112 when the application is active or executing. In someembodiments, device/global internal state 157 is used by event sorter170 to determine which application(s) is(are) currently active, andapplication internal state 192 is used by event sorter 170 to determineapplication views 191 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 192 includes additionalinformation, such as one or more of: resume information to be used whenapplication 136-1 resumes execution, user interface state informationthat indicates information being displayed or that is ready for displayby application 136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back toa prior state or view of application 136-1, and a redo/undo queue ofprevious actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 171 receives event information from peripherals interface118. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., auser touch on touch-sensitive display 112, as part of a multi-touchgesture). Peripherals interface 118 transmits information it receivesfrom I/O subsystem 106 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 166,accelerometer(s) 168, and/or microphone 113 (through audio circuitry110). Information that peripherals interface 118 receives from I/Osubsystem 106 includes information from touch-sensitive display 112 or atouch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 171 sends requests to the peripheralsinterface 118 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheralsinterface 118 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripheral interface 118 transmits event information only when there isa significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predeterminednoise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments, event sorter 170 also includes a hit viewdetermination module 172 and/or an active event recognizer determinationmodule 173.

Hit view determination module 172 provides software procedures fordetermining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more views,when touch sensitive display 112 displays more than one view. Views aremade up of controls and other elements that a user can see on thedisplay.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is aset of views, sometimes herein called application views or userinterface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-basedgestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) inwhich a touch is detected may correspond to programmatic levels within aprogrammatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example, thelowest level view in which a touch is detected may be called the hitview, and the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs may bedetermined based, at least in part, on the hit view of the initial touchthat begins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 172 receives information related tosub-events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multipleviews organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 172identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which shouldhandle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowestlevel view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (i.e., the firstsub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potentialevent). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determinationmodule, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related to thesame touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit view.

Active event recognizer determination module 173 determines which viewor views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence ofsub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determinationmodule 173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particularsequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizerdetermination module 173 determines that all views that include thephysical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, andtherefore determines that all actively involved views should receive aparticular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touchsub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with oneparticular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain asactively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 174 dispatches the event information to an eventrecognizer (e.g., event recognizer 180). In embodiments including activeevent recognizer determination module 173, event dispatcher module 174delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined byactive event recognizer determination module 173. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module 174 stores in an event queue the eventinformation, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver module182.

In some embodiments, operating system 126 includes event sorter 170.Alternatively, application 136-1 includes event sorter 170. In yet otherembodiments, event sorter 170 is a stand-alone module, or a part ofanother module stored in memory 102, such as contact/motion module 130.

In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes a plurality of eventhandlers 190 and one or more application views 191, each of whichincludes instructions for handling touch events that occur within arespective view of the application's user interface. Each applicationview 191 of the application 136-1 includes one or more event recognizers180. Typically, a respective application view 191 includes a pluralityof event recognizers 180. In other embodiments, one or more of eventrecognizers 180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interfacekit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 136-1inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent handler 190 includes one or more of: data updater 176, objectupdater 177, GUI updater 178, and/or event data 179 received from eventsorter 170. Event handler 190 may utilize or call data updater 176,object updater 177 or GUI updater 178 to update the application internalstate 192. Alternatively, one or more of the application views 191includes one or more respective event handlers 190. Also, in someembodiments, one or more of data updater 176, object updater 177, andGUI updater 178 are included in a respective application view 191.

A respective event recognizer 180 receives event information (e.g.,event data 179) from event sorter 170, and identifies an event from theevent information. Event recognizer 180 includes event receiver 182 andevent comparator 184. In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 alsoincludes at least a subset of: metadata 183, and event deliveryinstructions 188 (which may include sub-event delivery instructions).

Event receiver 182 receives event information from event sorter 170. Theevent information includes information about a sub-event, for example, atouch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the eventinformation also includes additional information, such as location ofthe sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch the eventinformation may also include speed and direction of the sub-event. Insome embodiments, events include rotation of the device from oneorientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscapeorientation, or vice versa), and the event information includescorresponding information about the current orientation (also calleddevice attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 184 compares the event information to predefined eventor sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines anevent or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event orsub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 184 includes eventdefinitions 186. Event definitions 186 contain definitions of events(e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1(187-1), event 2 (187-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events inan event 187 include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touchmovement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, thedefinition for event 1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) onthe displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first lift-off (touchend) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on thedisplayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second lift-off (touchend) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition forevent 2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, forexample, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for apredetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and lift-off of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments,the event also includes information for one or more associated eventhandlers 190.

In some embodiments, event definition 187 includes a definition of anevent for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, eventcomparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interfaceobject is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an applicationview in which three user-interface objects are displayed ontouch-sensitive display 112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine whichof the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch(sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respectiveevent handler 190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit testto determine which event handler 190 should be activated. For example,event comparator 184 selects an event handler associated with thesub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event 187 alsoincludes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event informationuntil after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-eventsdoes or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 180 determines that the series ofsub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 186, therespective event recognizer 180 enters an event impossible, eventfailed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequentsub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other eventrecognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue totrack and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 includes metadata183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate howthe event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to activelyinvolved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includesconfigurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how eventrecognizers may interact with one another. In some embodiments, metadata183 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicatewhether sub-events are delivered to varying levels in the view orprogrammatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 activates eventhandler 190 associated with an event when one or more particularsub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent recognizer 180 delivers event information associated with theevent to event handler 190. Activating an event handler 190 is distinctfrom sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 throws a flag associated withthe recognized event, and event handler 190 associated with the flagcatches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 188 include sub-eventdelivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-eventwithout activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event deliveryinstructions deliver event information to event handlers associated withthe series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlersassociated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved viewsreceive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 176 creates and updates data used inapplication 136-1. For example, data updater 176 updates the telephonenumber used in contacts module 137, or stores a video file used in videoplayer module 145. In some embodiments, object updater 177 creates andupdates objects used in application 136-1. For example, object updater176 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of auser-interface object. GUI updater 178 updates the GUI. For example, GUIupdater 178 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 190 includes or has access to dataupdater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178. In someembodiments, data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178are included in a single module of a respective application 136-1 orapplication view 191. In other embodiments, they are included in two ormore software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding eventhandling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies toother forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 100 withinput-devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens, e.g.,coordinating mouse movement and mouse button presses with or withoutsingle or multiple keyboard presses or holds, user movements taps,drags, scrolls, etc., on touch-pads, pen stylus inputs, movement of thedevice, oral instructions, detected eye movements, biometric inputs,and/or any combination thereof, which may be utilized as inputscorresponding to sub-events which define an event to be recognized.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touchscreen 112 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screen maydisplay one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200. In thisembodiment, as well as others described below, a user may select one ormore of the graphics by making contact or touching the graphics, forexample, with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scale in the figure)or one or more styluses 203 (not drawn to scale in the figure). In someembodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurs when the userbreaks contact with the one or more graphics. In some embodiments, thecontact may include a gesture, such as one or more taps, one or moreswipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward)and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upwardand/or downward) that has made contact with device 100. In someembodiments, inadvertent contact with a graphic may not select thegraphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweeps over an applicationicon may not select the corresponding application when the gesturecorresponding to selection is a tap.

Device 100 may also include one or more physical buttons, such as “home”or menu button 204. As described previously, menu button 204 may be usedto navigate to any application 136 in a set of applications that may beexecuted on device 100. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menubutton is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen112.

In one embodiment, device 100 includes touch screen 112, menu button204, push button 206 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 208, Subscriber Identity Module(SIM) card slot 210, head set jack 212, and docking/charging externalport 124. Push button 206 may be used to turn the power on/off on thedevice by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressedstate for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressingthe button and releasing the button before the predefined time intervalhas elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process.In an alternative embodiment, device 100 also may accept verbal inputfor activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone 113.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments. Device 300 need not be portable. In some embodiments,device 300 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device(such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device(e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 300 typically includesone or more processing units (CPU's) 310, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 360, memory 370, and one or more communicationbuses 320 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 320may include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnectsand controls communications between system components. Device 300includes input/output (I/O) interface 330 comprising display 340, whichis typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 330 also may includea keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device) 350 and touchpad 355.Memory 370 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM,DDR RAM or other random access solid state memory devices; and mayinclude non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storagedevices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 370 may optionallyinclude one or more storage devices remotely located from CPU(s) 310. Insome embodiments, memory 370 stores programs, modules, and datastructures analogous to the programs, modules, and data structuresstored in memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG. 1), or asubset thereof. Furthermore, memory 370 may store additional programs,modules, and data structures not present in memory 102 of portablemultifunction device 100. For example, memory 370 of device 300 maystore drawing module 380, presentation module 382, word processingmodule 384, website creation module 386, disk authoring module 388,and/or spreadsheet module 390, while memory 102 of portablemultifunction device 100 (FIG. 1) may not store these modules.

Each of the above identified elements in FIG. 3 may be stored in one ormore of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of the aboveidentified modules corresponds to a set of instructions for performing afunction described above. The above identified modules or programs(i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separatesoftware programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets ofthese modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in variousembodiments. In some embodiments, memory 370 may store a subset of themodules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 370may store additional modules and data structures not described above.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”)that may be implemented on portable multifunction device 100.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate exemplary user interfaces for a menu ofapplications on portable multifunction device 100 in accordance withsome embodiments. Similar user interfaces may be implemented on device300. In some embodiments, user interface 400A includes the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Signal strength indicator(s) 402 for wireless communication(s),        such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals;    -   Time 404;    -   Bluetooth indicator 405;    -   Battery status indicator 406;    -   Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Phone 138, which may include an indicator 414 of the number            of missed calls or voicemail messages;        -   E-mail client 140, which may include an indicator 410 of the            number of unread e-mails;        -   Browser 147; and        -   Music player 146; and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   IM 141;        -   Image management 144;        -   Camera 143;        -   Video player 145;        -   Weather 149-1;        -   Stocks 149-2;        -   Workout support 142;        -   Calendar 148;        -   Calculator 149-3;        -   Alarm clock 149-4;        -   Dictionary 149-5; and        -   User-created widget 149-6.

In some embodiments, user interface 400B includes the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 405, 406, 141, 148, 144, 143, 149-3, 149-2, 149-1,        149-4, 410, 414, 138, 140, and 147, as described above;    -   Map 154;    -   Notes 153;    -   Settings 412, which provides access to settings for device 100        and its various applications 136, as described further below;    -   Video and music player module 152, also referred to as iPod        (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 152; and    -   Online video module 155, also referred to as YouTube (trademark        of Google Inc.) module 155.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”)and associated processes that may be implemented on a multifunctiondevice with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, such as device 300or portable multifunction device 100.

FIGS. 5A-5G illustrate exemplary user interfaces for accessing alternatekeys for a default key in accordance with some embodiments. The userinterfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processesdescribed below, including the processes in FIGS. 6A-6C.

In FIGS. 5A-5I, some finger contact movement sizes may be exaggeratedfor illustrative purposes. No depiction in the figures bearing on fingercontact movements should be taken as a requirement or limitation for thepurpose of understanding sizes and scale associated with the methods anddevices disclosed herein.

UI 500A (FIG. 5A) depicts an exemplary text input user interface for anotes application (e.g., notes module 153) on the touch screen 112 ofdevice 100. In this example, the UI 500A includes a text entry region502 and a QWERTY soft keyboard 504 below the text entry region 502. Thetext entry region 502 may include input text 506 with text 506-1 and acursor 508 at position 508-A. The soft keyboard 504 includes one or moresoft keys 510 that are default for the soft keyboard 504. Some of thesoft keys 510 are associated with a respective Latin letter. Forexample, soft key 510-A is associated with the letter “E.” One or moreof the soft keys 510 may be associated with one or more respectivealternate keys. For example, a key 510 associated with a letter can havealternate keys associated with that letter with respective diacriticalmarks.

UI 500B (FIG. 5B) illustrates a contact 512 on the touch screen 112. Inthis example, the contact 512 is at a location 512-A on the touch screen112 corresponding to the location of soft key 510-A, which alsocorresponds to the activation region of soft key 510-A. In someembodiments, the activation region of a soft key 510 is the areaindicated by the periphery of the key 510 as displayed on the touchscreen 112.

UI 500C (FIG. 5C) illustrates immediate subsequent movement of contact512 (e.g., upward) in the UI on touch screen 112, from location 512-A tolocation 512-B. During the movement, contact 512 remains in contact withthe touch screen 112. In this example, the movement of the contactfollows an approximately straight line.

UI 500D (FIG. 5D) illustrates a pause of the movement of the contact 512at location 512-B. During the pause, the contact 512 remains in contactwith the touch screen 112. UI 500D also illustrates a plurality ofalternate keys 514 for key 510-A being displayed on the touch screen 112in response to the movement of contact 512 to location 512-B. Thealternate keys 514 are displayed as an array (e.g., a horizontal array,a vertical array, or a two-dimensional array) of soft keys in thevicinity of key 510-A. The alternate keys 514 include a key 514-A forthe original letter “E” associated with key 510-A and keys 514-B to514-F for the letter “E” with respective diacritical marks.

In some embodiments, the alternate keys 514-A thru 514-F are displayedwithin the array in an ordering or positioning that is determined basedat least in part on the language with which the soft keyboard 504 isassociated. For example, the ordering or positioning can be based atleast in part on which diacritical marks (or the absence of adiacritical mark) are most commonly added to the letter “E” within thelanguage; the respective alternate keys associated with the absence of adiacritical mark (i.e., the original unmodified letter “E” associatedwith key 510-A) and with the commonly added diacritical marks or for theletter “E” are displayed closer to the default key 510-A. Further, insome embodiments, the ordering or positioning can be determined based atleast in further part on the usage frequencies of the letter “E” withand without diacritical marks, with the keys associated with thediacritical mark variations of the letter “E” that are entered moreoften by the user displayed closer to the default key 510-A.

UI 500E (FIG. 5E) illustrates movement of contact 512 across thetouch-screen 112, from location 512-B to a location 512-C correspondingto the location of alternate key 514-B, which corresponds to theactivation region of the alternate key 514-B. In some embodiments, theactivation region of an alternate key 514 is the area indicated by theperiphery of the alternate key 514 as displayed on the touch screen 112.Alternate key 514-B is associated with the letter “E” with a macrondiacritic. If the contact 512 is broken from the touch screen 112 at thelocation of the alternate key 514-B, a character corresponding to theletter “E” with a macron is input into input text 506 at cursor location508-A, and the cursor 508 advances to another location.

UI 500F (FIG. 5F) illustrates a result of the breaking of the contact512 from touch screen 112 at location 512-C. The alternate keys 514ceases to be displayed on the touch screen 112. A character 516corresponding to the letter “E” with a macron is input into input text506 (text 506-1 changes to text 506-2), and cursor 508 advances tolocation 508-B. In some embodiments, in response to detecting a gesturethat corresponds to a desired accent on a respective default key for acharacter—e.g., an upward gesture to the right for a rightward accent oran upward gesture to the left for a leftward accent—the character withthe corresponding accent is input, independent of whether the alternatekeys 514 are displayed.

UI 500G (FIG. 5G) illustrates movement of contact 512 across the touchscreen 112 from location 512-B to a location 512-D that does notcorrespond to a location of any of the alternate keys 514. If contact512 is broken from touch screen 112 at location 512-D, alternate keys514 cease to be displayed and no new character is inputted into inputtext 506 (i.e., text 506-1 remain as is); UI 500G changes back to UI500A.

UI 500H (FIG. 5H) illustrates immediate subsequent movement of contact512 downward in the UI on touch screen 112, from location 512-A tolocation 512-E.

UI 500I ((FIG. 5I) illustrates the hiding of keyboard 504. In responseto the immediate subsequent downward movement, the keyboard 504 ishidden (i.e., ceases to be displayed) while text entry region 502remains displayed. In some embodiments, the keyboard 504 is “unhidden”in response to a contact anywhere on the touch screen 112 while thekeyboard 504 is hidden.

FIGS. 6A-6C are flow diagrams illustrating a method 600 of accessingalternate keys for a default key in accordance with some embodiments.The method 600 is performed at a multifunction device (e.g., device 300,FIG. 3, or portable multifunction device 100, FIG. 1) with a touchscreen display and the touch-sensitive surface is on the display. Someoperations in method 600 may be combined and/or the order of someoperations may be changed.

As described below, the method 600 provides an intuitive way to accessalternate keys for a default key. The method reduces the cognitiveburden on a user when accessing alternate keys for a default key,thereby creating a more efficient human-machine interface. Forbattery-operated computing devices, enabling a user to access alternatekeys for a default key faster and more efficiently conserves power andincreases the time between battery charges.

The device displays (602) a text entry region and a soft keyboard havinga plurality of default keys. For example, in FIG. 5A, UI 500A includes atext entry region 502 and a QWERTY soft keyboard 504 below the textentry region 502. The QWERTY soft keyboard 504 includes a plurality ofkeys 510 that are default for the QWERTY keyboard 504. The default keys510 include keys associated with the Latin alphabet without anydiacritical marks. For a non-QWERTY keyboard, the set of default keysmay be different.

In some embodiments, more than one soft keyboard is available on adevice. For example, a device can have different keyboards for differentlanguages and/or input methods, each keyboard with its own set ofdefault keys.

In some embodiments, a keyboard is associated with multiple languages,with the available alternate keys differing by language. For example, aQWERTY keyboard can be used for multiple languages, but the set ofavailable alternate keys for the QWERTY keyboard can differ by thelanguage for which the QWERTY keyboard is used at the moment.

Each key 510 has a respective activation region; in some embodiments,the periphery of the respective key 510 indicates its respectiveactivation region.

The device detects (604) a contact at a first location on thetouch-sensitive display that corresponds to an activation regionassociated with a respective default key, wherein the respective defaultkey has a plurality of alternate keys, and detects an immediatesubsequent movement (e.g., upward movement) of the contact on thetouch-sensitive display. For example, in FIG. 5B, contact 512 isdetected at location 512-A, which corresponds to the activation regionof key 510-A. In FIG. 5C, immediate upward movement of contact 512 fromlocation 512-A to location 512-B is detected.

As used in this specification, “immediate” movement of a contact fromone location to another is movement of the contact that is initiatedwithin a short predefined period of time from the initial contact,wherein the predefined period of time has a duration of at least 0.2seconds and no more than 1.5 seconds (e.g., within 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6,0.75 or 1.0 seconds).

The device, in response to detecting the immediate subsequent movementof the contact, while continuing to display the plurality of defaultkeys of the soft keyboard, displays (606) an array of keys including theplurality of alternate keys for the respective default key, where eachkey in the array has an associated activation region. For example, inFIG. 5D, an array of alternate keys 514 for default key 510-A isdisplayed in response to detection of the immediate subsequent upwardmovement of the contact 512 from location 512-A to location 512-B, whilethe default keys 510 continue to be displayed. Each alternate key 514has a respective activation region; in some embodiments, the peripheryof a respective key 514 indicates its respective activation region.

In some embodiments, the device displays (608) the plurality ofalternate keys in an order that is determined based at least in part ona language associated with the soft keyboard. For example, in FIG. 5D,the keyboard 504 can be associated with a language, and the alternatekeys 514-A thru 514-F can be displayed in an ordering or positioningthat is at least based on which diacritics (or no diacritic) are mostcommonly added within that language to the letter “E” associated withdefault key 510-A; the keys associated with no diacritic and the morecommonly added diacritics are displayed closer to the default key 510-A.

In some embodiments, the order or positions in which the alternate keysare displayed within the array is determined base at least in furtherpart on respective usage frequencies of the alternate keys (610). Forexample, in FIG. 5D, if the user has accumulated a history at the deviceof entering the letter “E” with the macron (using key 514-B) more oftenthan entering the letter “E” with the breve (using key 514-C), then key514-B is displayed closer to default key 510-A than key 514-C.

The device detects a liftoff of the contact at a second location on thetouch screen display. For example, in FIGS. 5E and 5G, the contact ismoved from location 512-B to location 512-C and location 512-D,respectively. At locations 512-C or 512-D, a liftoff or breaking of thecontact can occur (e.g., by the user moving their finger away from thetouch screen 112).

In response to detecting the liftoff of the contact (613), when thesecond location corresponds to an activation region that is associatedwith a respective alternate key in the array, the devices ceasesdisplaying (614) the array and inserts a character associated with therespective alternate key into the text entry region. For example, inFIG. 5E, location 512-C is at a location that corresponds to theactivation region of alternate key 514-B, which is associated with theletter “E” with a macron. In response to a liftoff of the contact atlocation 512-C, the array of alternate keys 514 ceases to be displayedand a character representing the letter “E” with a macron is inserted ascharacter 516 into input text 506 in text entry region 502 (text 506-1changes to text 506-2), as illustrated in FIG. 5F.

In response to detecting the liftoff of the contact (613), when thesecond location corresponds to a region of the touch-sensitive displaythat is not an activation region for any of the keys in the array, thedevice ceases displaying the array without inserting any character intothe text entry region. For example, in FIG. 5G, location 512-D is at alocation that does not correspond to the activation region of any of thealternate keys 514. In response to a liftoff of the contact at location512-D, the array of alternate keys 514 ceases to be displayed and noletter is inserted into the input text 506, as illustrated in FIG. 5A.

In some embodiments, the soft keyboard can be hidden using a movement ofthe contact opposite of the movement that results in the displaying ofthe array of alternate keys. For example, the device detects (618) acontact at a location on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds toan activation region associated with a respective default key, anddetects an immediate subsequent downward movement of the contact on thetouch-sensitive display. For example, in FIG. 5B, contact 512 isdetected at a location 512-A corresponding to the activation region ofkey 510-A. In FIG. 5H, an immediate subsequent movement of the contact512 downward from location 512-A to location 512-D is detected. In FIG.5I, in response to detection of the immediate subsequent downwardmovement, the keyboard 504 is hidden (i.e., ceases to be displayed).

The operations in the information processing methods described above maybe implemented by running one or more functional modules in informationprocessing apparatus such as general purpose processors or applicationspecific chips. These modules, combinations of these modules, and/ortheir combination with general hardware (e.g., as described above withrespect to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 3) are included within the scope ofprotection of the invention.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 6A-6C may beimplemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1C. For example,detection operation 604 and displaying operation 606 may be implementedby event sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190. Eventmonitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the eventinformation to application 136-1. A respective event recognizer 180 ofapplication 136-1 compares the event information to respective eventdefinitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a firstlocation on the touch-sensitive surface (or whether rotation of thedevice) corresponds to a predefined event or sub-event, such asselection of an object on a user interface, or rotation of the devicefrom one orientation to another. When a respective predefined event orsub-event is detected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler180 associated with the detection of the event or sub-event. Eventhandler 180 may utilize or call data updater 176 or object updater 177to update the application internal state 192. In some embodiments, eventhandler 180 accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what isdisplayed by the application. Similarly, it would be clear to a personhaving ordinary skill in the art how other processes can be implementedbased on the components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1C.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention andvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1. A multifunction device, comprising: a touch-sensitive display; one ormore processors; memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one ormore programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed bythe one or more processors, the one or more programs includinginstructions for: displaying a text entry region and a soft keyboardhaving a plurality of default keys; detecting a contact at a firstlocation on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to anactivation region associated with a respective default key, wherein therespective default key has a plurality of alternate keys, and detectingan immediate subsequent movement of the contact on the touch-sensitivedisplay; in response to detecting the immediate subsequent movement ofthe contact, while continuing to display the plurality of default keysof the soft keyboard, displaying an array of keys including theplurality of alternate keys for the respective default key, each key inthe array having an associated activation region; detecting liftoff ofthe contact at a second location on the touch-sensitive display; and, inresponse to detecting the liftoff of the contact: when the secondlocation corresponds to an activation region that is associated with arespective alternate key in the array, ceasing to display the array andinserting a character associated with the respective alternate key intothe text entry region; and when the second location corresponds to aregion of the touch-sensitive display that is not an activation regionfor any of the keys in the array, ceasing to display the array withoutinserting any character into the text entry region.
 2. The device ofclaim 1, including instructions for: detecting a contact at a locationon the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to an activation regionassociated with a respective default key, and detecting an immediatesubsequent downward movement of the contact on the touch-sensitivedisplay; and in response to detecting the immediate subsequent downwardmovement of the contact, hiding the soft keyboard.
 3. The device ofclaim 1, including instructions for displaying the plurality ofalternate keys in an order that is determined based at least in part ona language associated with the soft keyboard.
 4. The device of claim 3,wherein the order is determined based at least in further part onrespective usage frequencies of the plurality of alternate keys.
 5. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the array is a horizontal array.
 6. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the detected immediate subsequent movement isan upward movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive display.
 7. Amethod, comprising: at a multifunction device with a touch-sensitivedisplay: displaying a text entry region and a soft keyboard having aplurality of default keys; detecting a contact at a first location onthe touch-sensitive display that corresponds to an activation regionassociated with a respective default key, wherein the respective defaultkey has a plurality of alternate keys, and detecting an immediatesubsequent movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive display; inresponse to detecting the immediate subsequent movement of the contact,while continuing to display the plurality of default keys of the softkeyboard, displaying an array of keys including the plurality ofalternate keys for the respective default key, each key in the arrayhaving an associated activation region; detecting liftoff of the contactat a second location on the touch-sensitive display; and in response todetecting the liftoff of the contact: when the second locationcorresponds to an activation region that is associated with a respectivealternate key in the array, ceasing to display the array and inserting acharacter associated with the respective alternate key into the textentry region; and when the second location corresponds to a region ofthe touch-sensitive display that is not an activation region for any ofthe keys in the array, ceasing to display the array without insertingany character into the text entry region.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising: detecting a contact at a location on thetouch-sensitive display that corresponds to an activation regionassociated with a respective default key, and detecting an immediatesubsequent downward movement of the contact on the touch-sensitivedisplay; and in response to detecting the immediate subsequent downwardmovement of the contact, hiding the soft keyboard.
 9. The method ofclaim 7, wherein displaying the array of keys including the plurality ofalternate keys for the respective default key comprises: displaying theplurality of alternate keys in an order that is determined based atleast in part on a language associated with the soft keyboard.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the order is determined based at least infurther part on respective usage frequencies of the plurality ofalternate keys.
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein the array is ahorizontal array.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the detectedimmediate subsequent movement is an upward movement of the contact onthe touch-sensitive display.
 13. A graphical user interface on amultifunction device with a touch-sensitive display, a memory, and oneor more processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory,the graphical user interface comprising: a soft keyboard having aplurality of default keys; and a text entry region; wherein: a contactis detected at a first location on the touch-sensitive display thatcorresponds to an activation region associated with a respective defaultkey, and an immediate subsequent movement of the contact on thetouch-sensitive display is detected, wherein the respective default keyhas a plurality of alternate keys; in response to the detected immediatesubsequent movement of the contact, while the plurality of default keysof the soft keyboard continues to be displayed, an array of keysincluding the plurality of alternate keys for the respective default keyis displayed, each key in the array having an associated activationregion; a liftoff of the contact at a second location on thetouch-sensitive display is detected; and in response to the detectedliftoff of the contact: when the second location corresponds to anactivation region that is associated with a respective alternate key inthe array, the array ceases to be displayed and a character associatedwith the respective alternate key is inserted into the text entryregion; and when the second location corresponds to a region of thetouch-sensitive display that is not an activation region for any of thekeys in the array, the array ceases to be displayed without anycharacter being inserted into the text entry region.
 14. A computerreadable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or moreprograms comprising instructions, which when executed by a multifunctiondevice with a touch-sensitive display, cause the device to: display atext entry region and a soft keyboard having a plurality of defaultkeys; detect a contact at a first location on the touch-sensitivedisplay that corresponds to an activation region associated with arespective default key, wherein the respective default key has aplurality of alternate keys, and detect an immediate subsequent movementof the contact on the touch-sensitive display; in response to detectingthe immediate subsequent movement of the contact, while continuing todisplay the plurality of default keys of the soft keyboard, display anarray of keys including the plurality of alternate keys for therespective default key, each key in the array having an associatedactivation region; detect liftoff of the contact at a second location onthe touch-sensitive display; and, in response to detecting the liftoffof the contact: when the second location corresponds to an activationregion that is associated with a respective alternate key in the array,cease displaying the array and insert a character associated with therespective alternate key into the text entry region; and when the secondlocation corresponds to a region of the touch-sensitive display that isnot an activation region for any of the keys in the array, ceasedisplaying the array without inserting any character into the text entryregion.
 15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, includinginstructions that cause the device to: detect a contact at a location onthe touch-sensitive display that corresponds to an activation regionassociated with a respective default key, and detect an immediatesubsequent downward movement of the contact on the touch-sensitivedisplay; and in response to detecting the immediate subsequent downwardmovement of the contact, hide the soft keyboard.
 16. The computerreadable storage medium of claim 14, including instructions that causethe device to display the plurality of alternate keys in an order thatis determined based at least in part on a language associated with thesoft keyboard.
 17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16,wherein the order is determined based at least in further part onrespective usage frequencies of the plurality of alternate keys.
 18. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the array is ahorizontal array.
 19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14,wherein the detected immediate subsequent movement is an upward movementof the contact on the touch-sensitive display.